One of my goals was to begin my garden. I don’t think we’re going to be able to do our vegetable garden this year since I am going to be out of town so much so we’ve begun to instead fix up some of the landscaping. Landscaping is gardening, right?

Sorta.

Ready?

Okay, first off… we bought these gray stone pavers.

We got 50. We need 50 more.  And we need a good day to install it as well as some stonedust which will be used to fill in those cracks. We want to make sure it’s laid out well and that it is ‘even’ when we do it. 

Next, we decided what to do with an ugly corner. We had one corner with nothing in it… and it looked awkward and unfinished. So, taking the same material colour from the walkway, we bought some garden edging.

We originally had three globe cedar hedges and the juniper bush out front (with the centre globe you see, in the back originally where the taller one was)… However, it still didn’t look right and my mom found an excellent bush up north at the Canadian Tire which had a sale on the cedar hedges. So, she was able to get us a nice tall one which should thrive in that corner. We moved the third ball up about two feet in just behind the juniper bush. Junipers spread out about a metre or two so it should give great ground cover which should allow us an easy way to cut the grass if it covers the grass in that little corner there… and we’ve planted grass seed so we’re just waiting for that to grown in and finish it up. Then after he planted trees, Martin added some beautiful red cedar chips which we had in the front of the house too so it’s very cohesive.

And overall?

I think it’s going to be easy maintenance and look pretty sharp. We have a very large yard and our land goes about 70 feet by 250 at least.

To give you an idea of just how big our land is… the pool above is a 25 foot diameter…. and I’ve shaded out the areas which don’t belong to us….

And the above red square? That is the area of our latest garden project covers. So, you can imagine what I mean when I say we want to make a nice landscaped area with as little maintenance as possible because there is a lot of lawn!

We’ll probably get down the paving stones this week and will update the page when we get around to that…. yeehaw! Can’t wait to mark this down off my list!

What do these numbers mean? Good thing you asked!

100 stands for the amount of geocaches I want to ‘discover’ this year…. you may not think that is a big number but geocaching can be pretty difficult sometimes… like the time me and my brother searched for the elusive geocache in N.Bay where it should have been pretty simple but throw in a field of daggar-like thorns tearing through your flesh whilst being devoured on by blackflies and praying the scent of blood does not attract bears, cougars, panthers (yea, you read that right!) or rabid renegade beavers, well - you’re not in for an easy ride! These geocaches aren’t always handed to you in a silver platter!

What is geocaching? Essentially someone has marked a ‘treasures’ GPS co-ordinates, and it is up to you to find that treasure with the numbers they give. Some are easy, some are more difficult… some require (literally) climbing mountains or hiking through bug-infested zones or even boating to some isolated island or something… or, some can be found right in your own town hidden in a spot few would ever find if you didn’t know to look. It’s good ol’, nerd fun. All you need is a GPS unit, some nerdy-skills to use it or… just find a spouse (preferably you own) or a friend who can do all the nerdy things for you.

Second 1000 is the amount of kilometres I want to put in on my bike this year. I haven’t biked in years and I don’t even know if my butt will fit on my bike seat but hell! I’m going to give it a whirl. So, I’m going to keep a bike log and a geocaching log on the side menu somewhere of updates for these two goals.

After starting my degree in 2001 I am finally finished! To quote the Dixie Chicks, I definitely took the long way home! In 2001 I took my first course, a psychology class. I was working full time and was just pleased as punch that I could begin taking courses, pay for them as I took them and to not accrue any extra debt. I mean, after all, I am STILL paying my college courses that I took back in 1996-1999! Anyways - slowly but surely, I took courses part time. When I had to quit my job due to injury in 2005, for the 2005/2006 school year I went full time. Then we moved and I had to finish the degree on a part-time basis, commuting or going for periods of summer classes that were intense but shorter in time, which allowed me to get finished faster. Yea, it took a helluva long time, but I have done it! The whole degree (thus far) has only cost me about $12000 … $7000 in student loans, another $5000 on credit cards for when I wasn’t eligible for the loans.  That’s not including my teacher’s college which also is sitting on credit cards too but - we’ll save “paying off credit card debt” for another entry, shall we? I had to do what I had to do, in order to get where I am. I’m prayin’ so hard that I will be approved for sponsorship for the last part of my teacher’s college. Pray pray pray….

This has been a long time coming, I sort of feel like I have been in school forever… I am most certainly sick of it, believe me. I’m not done yet, I still want to get my honours degree (another full year) and still have the teacher’s college to finish up this summer… but, I am definitely proud of me for all I have done in order to change my life. After the injury, I could have very well allowed myself to be completely swallowed up by depression but thankfully I had enough wits about me to realise I couldn’t just stop there… that I had to do something in order to move forth and carry on with my new, altered life.

*pats myself on the back*

By the end of autumn, 2008 — this monstrous moutain will be tackled! I will be walkin’ up to the top of this immense beauty. And in the end, I will also paint a picture of it from the photos.

Named en francaise, Rocher de l’Oiseau - or - Bird Rock, the local Algonquin people’s share the story of where a baby was thrown over the edge and rescued by a bird and brought to safety. There are also hieroglyphs dipicting the story of how the universe was created. Graffiti threatens it’s 3000-year old survival.

I am going to hike the Migizi Kiishkaabikaan!

Apparantely this is what it looks like from the top of the rock, looking down….

And, apparantely? On top of this rock? Is a lake that looks like this…

Many thanks to this site, http://www.mcelroy.ca/bushlog/20050921.shtml where I stole the photos but at least linked back to them. It’s a neat little site that has a history of the area. Being um, a historian so to speak, it’s interesting. The rock has ancient algonquin hieroglyphs which I can’t wait to see… and… a view of the place that I work at that I am not going to write about but if you go to that site, you can see. I’m sworn to an Oath of Secrecy, so I will let someone else spill the beans!

When I asked my bro if he would be interested in the rock. “Sure! How much rope do ya figure I’ll need?” Well, I told him, “I’ll be taking the trail to the top!” I’m sure it would be a lovely rock to rappel but after explaining to him the cultural history of it (seeing as we are algonquin ourself!), he understood. I just finished a research paper on the area and read that the gylphs are nearly 3000 years old and apparantely explain the creation of the world from the Creator. And to think?? I live 10 minutes away from the centre of the creation of the universe! Sweet. He’ll be taking the trail with me — out of respect!

When I mentioned this to a co-worker the other day, that this was my goal — she was like, ‘You know it’s a bit of a hill, right? Not quite like the walk from such and such?’ (I complained one day that I didn’t want to walk to this building because of this hill they told me about, which in the end, turned out to be nothing but I had a tummy full of chocolate milk and was ill and didn’t think the two would go together.) Anyways - yes, I’m fat but YES, I will do this. I will do this THIS year. Bring ‘er on!

I’ve been kind of laid up for the last couple of months. I was injured while in Basic Training, both ankles wound up pretty mangled sort of. There wasn’t a break, but during physiotherapy there was a rather concerning pop when I was getting adjusted. However, since that, the inflammation has gone down (I don’t feel the burning sensation every single day, only every other day) and I seem to have less popping and discomfort on a regular basis. So, with this advance in my medical condition, I have a new goal, to go a full week of PT without pain all week. Currently I do PT every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. If I can make it through the classes without pain, then that’s a goal checked off.

Paperwork hiding in the bedroom……

And in the livingroom……..

OH! Behind the computer screen… (sneaky sneaky!)

Oh! And, over there too…. there was about 10 piles around the house….

and…… when it was all done…..

A site of absolute BEAUTY! (I love the tinge of golden, as if a light shining from heaven upon the masterful gorgeousness of it all!)

Organised from head to toe…. so finally, I can shout…..

DONE!

I did it yesterday and it took much of the day though I did take a few breaks here and there…

There’s still a few odds and ends around the house but - overall, finished and I can pretty well confidently say it’s finished!

While this wasn’t a fun goal, it certainly makes me feel MUCH better… and in the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?

It’s time. Uh huh. Tax time. And with tax time means, finding all of those papers and receipts and other fun things you need for your taxes. Problem? You hate paperwork and bills and keeping track of things. And you haven’t done it for 12 months, despite your resolution THIS time last year to be organised.

So TODAY, I’m tackling the monster.  I will update this page in a bit with the BEFORE shots…. there’s a lot of ‘em too. I have to do it while I still feel like doing it…. wish me luck! Back in a few hours…. if I don’t get SWALLOWED up by the paperwork! Is this a good way to start off a site about FUN goals? This doesn’t sound like fun but it certainly IS a goal!

Hup 2-3-4, Hup 2-3-4…. 

I don’t know but I’ve been told! (I don’t know but I’ve been told!)

This paperwork is growin’ mold! (This paperwork is growin’ mold!)

If I don’t get it cleaned up soon! (If I don’t get it cleaned up soon!)

I’ll sing I’ve got the tax blues tune….(I’ll sing I’ve got the tax blues tune)….

Oi vay.

I have a lot of goals I want to get done — I find setting goals and putting them ‘out there’ for all to see, makes me more inclined to actually do it. I have been quite lazy for quite a while, and quite “unfun” so one day my bro and I started talking and decided to make this page!  So much of my life has been spent doing unfun things, how about for once I do some fun things?

We started to talk about coming up with a name for this. Fungoals.com was taken, so was fungoal. Then, we sorta thought fungoal sounded like a disease or something so, we came up with our name, A Cure for FunGoals! No one said we were normal, right? Hehehe… 

Anyways - my first set of “fun goals” include….

1. Walk 2 kms
2. Walk 5 kms
3. Swim 500 metres non-stop
4. Swim 1000 metres non-stop
5. Do a sprint triathlon
6. Become a Can-Fit-Pro Certified personal trainer by Summer 2008

I know they vary pretty quite a bit - I need sometimes to start with a small goal before I can do the big one.  Also, these are only a few goals, I plan on adding some smaller (more fun ones!) as I do them!  I want this site to be fun and energizing so even if it seems a silly little goal, as long as I meet them I want to document it!

I want to talk about goal #6. Becoming a Personal Trainer… I’m pretty overweight and I know this might sound a bit absurd for a goal but many years ago, I wanted to become a personal trainer to women and children who — for whatever reason — need a boost for their self-esteem. These could be victims of assault, bad marriages, abuse or whatever…. I know that it is something that could do good for someone — and if I can help someone get through a bad phase in their life by providing some personal training help, then it’d be worth it. I know I’m not the epitomy of health but perhaps in the process, this can help me lose the weight I need to.

Think I can do it? I know I can

I’m Dan and I’m currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. I’ve decided to set some FunGoals to help challenge myself to do new things… it also gives me a great excuse to keep fit for duty. Some of my goals may be suitable for use in the military perspective, and some may not. When I achieve each goal I will reward myself with a prize related to each goal.

My first set of goals are going to be:

1: Wall Climbing For A Minimum Of 1 Hour (This goal can be easily achieved due to close access to a rather large indoor wall on base.)
The Prize: Climbing Shoes from Mountain Equipment Co-Op

2: Attain SCUBA Diving Certification (Maybe DND can help me get this one too!)
The Prize:Diving Mask And Fins

3: Go Rappelling - Minimum 75 Foot Decent 5 Times
The Prize: New Climbing Accessories

4: Attempt A Triathlon (Starter triathlon at first, still recovering from injury at the moment)
The Prize: Swimming Or Cycling Accessories (still to be decided)

5: Run 2.4Km In Less Than 10 Minutes (last recorded attempt was 10:50)
The Prize: New Running Shoes

Noooooooo, this isn’t a website about fungus but instead, fungoals!  Welcome to our little world where your hosts –  Anji & Dan — have created a little space called, A Cure for Fun Goals! We are two siblings, strange in many, many, many ways but eager to try and start setting ourselves some fun goals! They can range anywhere from something to small to something big — something fitness to something strange… anything! As long as we have fun in our little journey!

We would however — like to encourage you to get your fungus checked out if you have any — ’cause, you can’t really meet your fun goals if you’ve got fungus! K?